CopV ^ 




(d 1 ^ 



'^ 



Price, 50 Cents. 



A TREATISE 



ON 



OLIVE CULTURE, 



BY 



1^' 



Ellwood Cooper. 



OF 



SANTA BARBARA, CAL. 



san francisco: 
Cpbekv \- Company, Steam Book and Job Printers, 

j:5 Market Street, just below First. 



iSSa. 



^. 



A TREATISE 



ON 



OLIVE CULTURE, 



BY 



Ellwood Cooper. 



OF 







SANTA BARBARA, CAL 









*'>. 



^«0N(A(4 0&P°: 



SAN FRANCISCO: 

CuBKji\ Jf Cow TAN Y. Steam Book and Joi? Pkinteks, 

4:5 \r:irlvi't Stn-ct, just liclow Kii'st. 
1 SSi. 



e>^ 






^b 



jjrcfatc. 



The following- articles were written for the Saxta Bauhara 
Press and published in that Journal, commencina; December, 
1880. 

The subject had l)een [)ressed upon me, by the nuiierous 
inquiries from all ])arts of the country relative to the cultivation 
of the Olive. 

The articles are now compiled and presented to the public 
without change, excepting the arrangement of the chapters. 

The sources of information are from my own experience, hav- 
ing planted the trees, cared for them until their bearing season, 
and made oil for five years- I may add, that during this period, 
1 have read up the sul)ject from such books as I could obtain in 
the French language. 

There being no other work of the kind in the English language, 
1 conclmle that the effort warrants presentation. 

ELI.WOOD COOPER. 



Contents. 



Page. 

AkticiiE I. — " Propagating," 5 

Article II. — " Pruning," 6 

Article III. " Fruit Bearing," 7 

Article IV.- " Fruit Picking," 9 

Article V. " Making Oil," 10 

Article VI. " Filtering and Clarifying," 12 

Article VII.—" Pickling," 13 

Article VIII. " Diseases.'* 14 

Article IX .- " Remedies for Diseases." 17 

Article X. " Translation from BcrtiUrr 19 

Article XI.—" Adulteration," .... 22 

Article XII. "Conclusion," 24 



,^ l'rtatt$^ att ^Im Cultutif. 



J 



ARTICLE I. 
Prop AG ation. 

The common and preferred method is to plant the cuttings, 
taken from the growing trees of sound wood, from three-quarters 
of an inch in diameter, to one and a half inches, and from four- 
teen to sixteen inches long. These cuttings should be taken 
from the trees during the months of December and January, 
neatly trimmed, without bruising and carefully trenched in loose 
sandy soil. A shady place preferred. They should be planted 
in permanent sites from February 20th to March 20th, depending 
upon the season. The ground should be well prepared and 
sufficientl}^ dry so that there is no mud and the weather warm. 
In Santa I3arbara near the coast no irrigation is necessary; but 
very frequent stirring of the top soil with a hoe or iron rake for 
a considerable distance around the cuttings is necessary during 
the Spring and Summer. About three-fourths of all that are 
well plaTited will grow. My plan is to set them twenty feet 
apart each way, and place them in the ground butt end down, 
and at an angle of about forty-five degrees, the top to the north, 
barely covered. Mark the place with a stake. By planting 
them obliquely, the bottom end will be from ten inches to one 
foot below the surface. In Europe the trees are planted from 27 
to 33 feet apart. My reasons for closer planting will be given 
in a subsequent article. 

All trees, as a rule, should be propagated from seeds. The 
roots are more symmetrical, the tree not so liable to be blown 
over, and the growth more healthful; but I have not been suc- 
cessful in germinating them, hence, I recommend the cutting. 
If the trees are propagated from seeds, budding or grafting is 
necessary. I have seen the statement that it was necessary that 
the seeds should pass through the stomachs of birds before they 
could be sprouted; also that by soaking in strong lye the sprout- 
ing would be secured. I have not seen the result of either 
experiment, and accept the statement with more or less distrust. 
I presume cuttings can be obtained from any of the Mission 
orchards in the southern counties. 



Olive Culture 



ARTICLE II. 
Pruning. 



The cutting will throw up numerous shoots or sprouts, all of 
which should be left to grow the first year, any disturbance of 
the top, affects the growth of the roots. It would be advisable, 
however, where there are two or more vigorous shoots of about 
the same size and height from the same cutting, to pinch the tops 
of all excepting the one to be left for the future tree, so as to 
throw more force and vigor into that one. In the following- 
Spring, when the ground is warm and sufficiently dry, all sprouts 
excepting the one to be preserved, should be carefully removed, 
cutting them off close to the cutting. The top end of the 
cutting should also be removed by the aid of a sharp saw. A 
post should be firmly planted, so that the tree can be well 
secured, to keep the trunk straight, and avoid any disturbance of 
the roots, and should be kept until the tree is four or five years 
old. By adopting this method a great deal of time will be saved, 
and better trees secured. The lateral branches should be allowed 
to grow until the tree is two or three years old; but in every 
case when any of said branches are rapidly making wood, they 
should be removed, and not allowed to rob the trunk. 

In the pruning during the first years, have only the one object 
in view, that is to force all the woody growth into one main 
trunk. This being dene the tree will naturally form a beautiful 
shape. The cultivator must not look at the tree of to-day or 
to-morrow, but the tree of ten years hence. All branches to the 
height of five to five and a half feet should be removed, so as to 
admit of close cultivating by horses. Trees planted at the dis- 
tance of twenty feet, and well kept, will in ten years touch each 
other. When this condition is reached they will be in full bear- 
ing, and therefore will require constant pruning or cutting back. 
It is much easier and less expensive to gather the fruit from 
small trees; besides if the pruning is intelligently done, it will 
improve the fruit and secure a greater quantity to the acre than 
can be produced under any other conditions. 

Some orchards in Europe are planted in "threes," that is three 
trees in each place planted in the form of a triangle, and three 
or four feet apart. This method would require the rows to be 
thirty-three to thirty-five feet distant, and would give about the 
same number of trees to the acre, as by planting at twenty feet, 
one tree in each })lace. It is claimed that by planting in this 
way no staking is required, the trees protect one another from 
the most violent wind storms, the trimming is simplified, and less 
care and labor required in the cultivation. 



Olive C u l t u k e 



ARTICLE III. 
FruitBearing. 

Trees growing from cuttings will produce fruit the fourth year, 
and sometimes, under the most favorable circumstances, will 
give a few berries the third year. It is the habit of the tree to 
overbear, and as a consequence will give but little fruit the year 
following a heavy crop. This statement is verified by the most 
reliable books published on the subject in the French, Italian 
and Spanish languages. There are, however, exceptions to this 
rule in California. Mr. Davis, who had charge of the San Diego 
Mission orchard in 1875, assured me that he had gathered from 
the same tree, two years in succession, over 150 gallons of berries. 
I have also observed that some trees in my orchards have borne 
well successive years. The fruit-bearing can be controlled by 
the pruning. The cultivator will not forget that the shoots or 
branches must be two years old before they will give fruit, hence, 
partial pruning every year, will give partial crops. My oldest 
orchard was planted February 21st, 1872. At four years 1 
gathered from some of the trees over two gallons of berries. In 
1878 over thirty gallons each oflF a few of the best trees, the or- 
chard then being only six years old. In 1879, the seventh year, 
the crop was not nearly so large. I had planted several thousand 
cuttings in the Spring of 1873, but these trees did not give at 
six years, a result equal to the first planting. The present crop, 
(1880) is quite good'; the oldest orchard now being eight years, 
and I think I do not over estimate, when I state that the yield of 
some of the best and fullest trees will be over forty gallons. 
Trees large enough to give this quantity of fruit, planted at a 
distance of twenty feet, will occupy nearly all the ground, and 
therefore give all the fruit that can be produced on one acre. An 
orchard bearing uniformly the quantity as above, would give the 
following result: One hundred trees to the acre at forty gallons 
each, 4000 gallons. This would be an enormous crop, unprece- 
dented, and far beyond any statistics given in European publica- 
tions. The one-fourth of the quantity yearly would be a very 
profitable crop. 

In estimating an orchard, the yield of isolated trees, or trees 
of great age, occupying considerable areas of ground, must not 
enter into the basis of calculation of the probable production. 
The tree mentiond in the San Diego Mission orchard as yielding 
150 gallons of berries was more than fifty feet distant from those 
surrounding it. 

My agent while traveling in Europe through the olive districts, 
measured a tree growing in the " Alpes Maritimes " that was 



8 OliveCulture. 

eight feet in diameter six feet above the ground, and at the 
ground fifteen feet in diameter. Only a few trees of such size 
could be grown on one acre. 

A. Coutance, Professeur des Sciences J^aturelles aux Ecoles 
de Medecine de la Marine of France, compiled a very ex- 
haustive work on the olive, published in Paris in 1877, from 
which I copy and translate as follows: "Large olive trees 
occupy one thousand square feet of ground — that is, require to 
be distant from each other about 33 feet; will produce every 
second year 37 gallons of berries, and occasionally as much as 
125 to 150 gallons. One tree, nine years old and nine inches in 
diameter, will produce 16 1-5 gallons. One 12 inches in dia- 
meter, 24 gallons. The measurement and number of trees 
occupying one hectare (two and a half acres) is given as follows: 
15 trees 12 inches in diameter, 75 trees 9 inches in diameter, 60 
trees 5 inches in diameter; total, 150 trees. Product of the 
same, 3000 gallons of berries." This would be equal to 1200 
gallons to the acre. Another authority gives 2250 gallons per 
hectare. Still another gives 2150. All of the above results 
once in two years. Several authorities quoted by the same 
author reckon 200 trees to each hectare. This would be 80 trees 
to the acre, and distant apart 23^ feet. French cultivators give 
the quantity of oil contained in a given quantity of fruit as one- 
eighth, and in weight one-tenth; that is, eight gallons of berries 
to one gallon of oil, and about fifty pounds of berries to one 
gallon of oil. Taking the average quantity of the production as 
given above, from a mature orchard, we have in oil, per tree, 
two to two and a half gallons every second year. This result is 
obtained by thorough fertilizing, without which the berries 
would yield but little oil. 

Olive trees grown from seeds are not removed from the nur- 
sery until about seven years old; grown from cuttings, they bear 
in Europe as early as they do in California. 

The newness and richness of our soil will probably give, the 
first fifty years, double the best results given in those countries 
where oil making has been the business for so many generations. 
Our climate is congenial to the habit of the tree; it blooms 
from the 1st to the 10th of May, and the fruit forms from the 1st 
to the 10 of June. At this season we have our best weather, 
free from extremes of either cold or heat. Nowhere in the 
world are all the conditions so favorable to the perfect fruit- 
bearing. 



O L I V K C U L T U R K , 



ARTICLE IV. 
Fruit P ic k i n <; . 

The olive usually ripens in November. In some localities in 
Eastern countries during favorable years, the fruit {Dicking for 
oil begins as early as October, and for pickling, in September. 
In Santa Barbara the crop of last year, (1880) as also that of 
1878, was unusually late in ripening, not being ready to pick 
liefore the middle of January — a delay of fully two months — the 
cause no doubt owing to the extraordinary rain fall of these two 
years. In 1878 we had after the middle of February, and up to 
the middle of April, a rain fall of over 14 inches, and in 1880 
over 18 inches, being more than our yearly average. 

The fruit should be gathered as soon as it turns purple, and 
before fully ripe, as the oil will be lighter in color and more 
fragrant, but somewhat less in quantity. 

In Europe the common method of gathering thp berries is to 
knock them from the trees with poles; they are then picked 
from the ground by old men, women, children and cripples. 
This plan has serious objections, the fruit being more or less 
bruised, causing decomposition, and the contact with the earth 
is liable to give the oil an unpleasant taste and odor. The more 
economical plan of gathering, is to pick from the trees by 
hand, and by the aid of intelligent contrivances; an active man 
can pick 400 pounds each day. 

I have arranged on a ranch wagon, platforms with ladders 
securely fastened, so that the fruit from the different heights of 
even large trees, can be gathered from the wagon, which is 
driven along the rows, and one half of the trees picked from 
each side. This plan obviates the necessity of moving ladders, 
climbing, etc., and relieves the pickers from the labor of carrying 
the fruit, as the sacks containing the same are always at hand on 
the platform. The leaves and imperfect berries are separated 
by passing the whole through a winnowing mill. This process 
leaves the fruit in the best possible condition, preparatory to 
manufacturino- the oil. 



10 O L I V E C TJ L T U R E , 



ARTICLE V. 
Making Oil. 

The berries are dried before crushing, as it is necessary to 
evaporate a portion of the water. Tf, however, they are left out 
on the trees until shrivelled, which is proof that necessary evapo- 
ration has already taken place, no drying- is needed after pick- 
ing. This late picking is not best, as mentioned in a previous 
article. If dried by the sun, it requires about fourteen days. 
This plan cannot be depended upon, excepting years when the 
fruit is early ripe, and we have continuous sunlight, with 
moderately warm weather. By artificiffl heat ranging from 110*^ 
to 130°, the drying can be done in less than forty-eight hours. 
The crushing and pressing should follow without delay — that is, 
the fruit taken from the drier in the morning should be crushed 
and pressed the same day. Long intervals "or delays in the 
process from picking the fruit to expressing the oil tends to 
rancidity. To make perfect oil requires a perfect system in the 
whole management. The capacity of the press, the crusher, the 
drier, and the number of pickers should correspond or be about 
equal ; all fruit picked during the day should be in at night, 
cleaned the following morning, and go into the drier imme- 
diately after the previous day's drying is taken out. The heat 
or temperature of the drier ought to be so graded as to complete 
the work in 48 hours, and it is better that it should be under 130 
degrees rather than above. Economy will necessitate in the 
business a system in the diiferent branches of the process 
admitting of no delays from the beginning to the end. 

My drier has a capacity of 500 square feet of surface, and will 
contain at one time ever 2000 pounds of olives, equal to five 
pickers of 400 pounds each per day, and as much as the crusher 
and press I am now using can work. 

The almost universal method of crushing the berries is by a 
heavy stone, similar to a mill stone, which is rolled around on 
the edge in a deep circular groove or trough, and by its weight 
does the crushing. A t)eam passing through the eye of the 
stone, and working on a journal in the center of the circle with 
a horse attached to the outer end of the beam, is the simplest 
way to do the work, and the plan that I have adopted. The 
circumference of the trough depends somewhat on the size of the 
stone. The one I am using is four feet high, six inches thick, 
and the diameter of the trough in which it works, six feet; the 
length of the beam fifteen feet. This crusher is amply suffi- 
cient for an orchard of one thousand trees, but too small for niv 
purpose. It cost about 50 dollars. 



Olive CuL TURK. 11 

A stone five feet in diameter and two feet thick would crush 
in eight hours a sufficient quantity of berries to make 100 
gallons of oil, and by working it night and day, the crop of ten 
thousand trees. It would be better, however, to have two stones 
half the thickness of the above, one following the other in the 
.same groove. The horse should work on the outside of the 
building containing the crusher. 

To make 100 gallons of oil each day would require two good 
presses. The one best adapted for the purpose so far as I have 
seen, is that used for making oleomargarine. Such presses could 
with very little expense be worked by the horse power used for 
crushing the berries, so that one man could do all the crushing 
and pressing. 

The press I am using is an old fashioned wooden beam press, 
such as used in the New England and Middle States for making 
cider. The beam is 26 feet long, and with a heavy box filled 
. with rock suspended at the extreme end, the power can be in- 
creased to 150 tons. The press with the differential pulleys cost 
about $150. Such a press cannot be improved upon for express- 
ing the oil, but the additional labor, and the time lost in chang- 
ing is so much greater than what M'ould be required for the 
oleomargarine invention, that the latter would facilitate the 
work, and be cheaper in the end, besides taking up so much less 
room. 

The crushed olives are put in the press in cheeses about three 
feet square, and three inches thick, with wooden slats between 
each cheese. Ten or more cheeses can be put in at each 
pressing. I use coarse linen cloth to contain the crushed olives. 

The fluid that is expressed is put in large tanks, and left for 
sixty to ninety days, when the oil will separate, and being 
lighter will rise to the top, where it can be drawn off. The 
pomace after the first pressing is re-crushed, and by pouring hot 
water over it, a second quality of oil is expressed. The refuse 
can then be used either for fuel, for feed for pigs, or for making 
still a third quality of oil; if for the latter, it is thrown in vats, 
boiling water poured over it, and left to ferment, when the oil 
still remaining will be liberated and rise to the top. 



12 O L 1 V E C U L T U R E , 



ARTICLE VI. 
Filtering or C l a r i f y i n <; . 

This is a simple process. The most common method is to 
have a series of five or six boxes, one above the other, each with 
cotton batting in the bottom, the oil passing the sixth will be 
beautifully clear and ready for market. I use cylindrical tin 
vessels holding about three gallons each, one fitting in the other 
in tiers of three, with fine wire sieves in the bottom of each. 
On these sieves I place two or three layers of cotton batting. 
The oil is passed from one tier to the other until clear. The 
clarifying can be done by the sunlight, also, it can be bleached and 
made much lighter in color, but not without injuring it. When 
it is adulterated artificial heat is necessary in the process. When 
once heated it loses a part of the nutty flavor, and is liable to 
become rancid when exposed to the air. It should be kept in 
an ordinarily cool place, not exposed to sunlight or heat, neither 
should it 1)0 handled any more than is absolutely necessary in 
the filtering and bottling, and should not be shaken after 
bottling, 1 he mucilage contained in the oil will not separate for a 
longtime after the oil is ready for use, and, as it does not injure it, 
is not, therefore objectionable. It will sometimes form in the 
bottles like globules of water, or in films settling to the bottom 
as sediment, and when shaken will give it a muddy appearance, 
which, with the common prejudice against all table oils that are 
not perfectly clear, renders it unsalable, as consumers consult 
more the eye than the taste. The oil is better when new and 
fresh, and what is gained in the appearance by its remaining a 
longer time in the tank, is more than lost in its freshness and 
delicacy of flavor. 

To sum up the cost of the machinery in the making of the oil, we 
have as follows; Drier, $150; mill, 1250; two presses, $500; two 
tanks, $200; filterers, $50; corker, tin foiler, $50; wooden build- 
ing, $400. Total, $1600. 



^1 



OliveCllture. 13 



ARTICLE VII. 
Pickling. 

There are different methods of preparing the fruit for pickles. 
The one adopted in this locality is as follows: " The berries are 
put in fresh water, which should be changed every day, for forty 
or fifty days, then put in salt brine, not very strong, and after 
remaining a few days, drawn off, a second brine substituted, made 
nearly strong enough to bear an egg. The water should be boiled. 
Keep the olives well covered with the brine. Great care should 
be taken in handling the berries so as not to bruise them. The 
easiest plan when picking from the tree is to drop them in water. 
They are usually picked when they begin to turn a purplish 
color." 

Another method, copied from the Paclfio Bioral Press: "Pick 
the olives as soon as they begin to show a reddish cast and rinse 
them in clean water. Then take one ounce of concentrated lye 
and dissolve it in water. One-third of this solution put in water 
enough to cover one gallon of olives. After a day or two pour 
off this water and add another lye of the same strength. This 
may be repeated once more, as five or six days are consumed in 
taking out the bitterness with the lye. The lye should be used 
until the fruit suits the taste. Then the olives are put in pure 
fresh water until the alkali is well removed. This can be ascer- 
tained by the color of the water and by the taste. In salting, 
use the ]:)est Liverpool " coarse fine " salt, the amount being about 
ten pounds to the barrel of olives, water enough being used to 
cover the fruit. Barrel up tight and keep in a cool place. All 
the process should be conducted in the dark, as the light is apt 
to injure the color." 

Still another method, which I have copied from the work of 
Prof. A. Coutance, and translate as follows: "Take green olives 
and after having bruised or broken them slightly, soak in water 
for nine days, changing the water each day. At the end of this 
time they will have lost their bitter taste and can then be put in 
brine. Hot water acts more rapidly." 

"The celebrated olives pickled after the maiuier of Picholini 
are put under a treatment of lye made more alkaline by the 
addition of quick lime. After leaving the olives a certain length 
of time until the pulp separates easily from the seed, a condition 
which depends upon the strength of the lye and the size of the 
olives; they are then washed and put in strong brine." " In the 
south they flavor with fennel and coriander; sometimes they 
substitute in place of the seed a small piece of anchovy and a 
cctper. In the latter case the olives should be in oil." 



14 Olive Culture- 



ARTICLE VIII. 

Diseases. 

My attention was called, as early as 1874, to the condition of 
the trees in and around Santa Barbara, from the ravages of the 
"Coccus Olece," commonly known as the "black scale," and 
which was always followed by the Idack fungus. In 1875 I 
visited the orchards of San Diego, San Gabriel, San Buenaven- 
tura and Santa Barbara, and in 1876 San Luis Obispo. At the 
latter place I learned from the Mission Fathers, through the late 
Hon. Judge Murray, that the disease had appeared al)Out four- 
teen years before that date, fixing the date of its apjiearance in 
California at about 1802. Prior to that tiine they had had unin- 
terrupted success with their olive trees. These examinations, 
very carefully made, determined in my mind one of two alterna- 
tives, either to keep the trees free from the the scale-bug or root 
them out. I chose the former, and have been fighting it without 
any cessation ever since. I believe all my olive trees are clean, 
and are, at this writing, loaded with a beautiful fruit crop. 

An olive tree once attacked with the scale-bug, unless cleaned, 
will soor-. be infested so that it cannot bear fruit. Such fruit as 
is borne during the period of rapid increase of the insect, will 
not make oil. There are trees enough in the southern part of 
the State, if properly cleaned and cared for, to produce many 
thousands of gallons of oil, while, with a few exceptional or- 
chards I do not lielieve one single gallon could be made. This 
is the condition everywhere where the insect is prevalent. The 
attack is fatal unless it is at once destroyed, and it is useless for 
any orchardist to fortify himself behind theories, that something- 
will turn up to counteract the ravages, or that the ants will 
destroy them, or that some enemy or parasite will appear to do 
the work which he cannot escape. The whole business will be 
bankrupted any thing short of total annihilation of the insect. 
In some districts on the northern coast of the Mediterranean, the 
spread of this insect lias become so alarming that the question of 
abandonment is contemplated. The ravages have baffled the 
(ifi'orts of their wisest men. To give some idea of the rapidity 
with which it will sjiread, I quote from a very interesting- 
treatise — a pamphlet of ninety pages, written by Alfred Lejour- 
dan — agricultural engineer, published in Marseilles, in 18(j4, title 
'' Maladie Noire." It is in this work estimated that one female 
" Coccus" will produce from 2000 to 4000 eggs. By one author 
that one " Coccus" in five generations will produce 

KIVE HILLIONS, XINETY-FOUU MII.I.IONS. 

By another that ten generations are produced in one year, and 



OliveCitlture. 15 

allowing only 100 as the reproduction of each — we will have at 
the end of the year from one single female, one billion billion — 
fortunately for us there are too many things contingent that 
])revents the possibility of such increase — high winds, birds and 
insects of various kinds destroy the greater number; still in 
favorable years the rapidity with which they will spread, will 
require our greatest energies and intelligence to counteract. 

In a very exhaustive work on the olive, compded by A. 
Coutance, Professor of Natural Science in the school of medicine, 
published in Paris in 1877, it is claimed that the silence of 
authors on this malady, caused during a pei'iod of twenty years, 
great ravages. Let us not commit the same blunder, and if we 
are to foster the culture of the olive in this country ; the 
valuable portions of such works as above mentioned, and of other 
books on the subject, should lie translated into English and made 
accessible to all the cultivators where the olive can be grown. 

The ravages of this insect are of quite recent date; Lejourdan 
states that it appeared for the first time at Nice in 1743, and 
that Bernard wrote on the subject in 1783, that there were no 
other writers before that time. 

" That all the Roman authors of the first half of the eighteenth 
century were silent upon the subject. It was in 1783 that all 
the proprietors in some localities trimmed down their trees to 
mere trunks, in order to clean them and commence with new 
trees. 

It is certain that a malady so characteristic with such a dis- 
agreeable aspect could not have escaped the observation of 
authors, > 

Abbe (Joutoure presented a memoire to the Academy of 
Marseilles, about the same time that Bernard wrote, in which he 
declared that the Coccus Oleoe was observed for the first time in 
1781. Captain Cousin states that in 1861 this malady made 
terrible havoc in Kabylie, (a part of Algeria,) where the olive 
formed almost the only resource of the people. It was the more 
alarming because they could find no successful remedy. In 
Cousin's report, he makes the statement that the greater part of 
the Kabyles preferred to leave the trees without any effort to 
remove the insects or the black fungus, and that an orchard 
attacked would not give fruit before ten years; thus intimating 
that the disease would die out of itself in about that time. I 
have foui'd in no other writings any intimation or possibility of 
the let-alone theory accomplishing the work. 

Regarding the Coccus and the black fungus, there are various 
opinions; some contend that the black is caused by the humidity 
and the want of ventilation and sun-light in the tree. This 
theory is accompanied by the statement that the black fungus is 



16 OliyeCulture. 

seen without any appearance of the Coccus; and that the Coccus 
is to be seen without any appearance of black fungus. Some 
that it is caused by the smoke from chimneys; others that it is 
caused by the northern winds carrying- the sea air through the 
trees; others still that it emanated from the ground. But the 
principal and accepted theory is, that it is caused by the attack 
of the Coccus; the piercing of the bark of the limbs and twigs, by 
these little insects causing the emanation of sap, or some sub- 
stance from the tree or from the insect, or both, which falls on 
the upper side of the leaves, as also on the trunk and branches, 
and produces the fungus. 

In my examinations and observations I have never seen the 
black fungus unless preceded by the insect, and that where the 
tree was affected, the black was always on a lower level than 
where the insect was working; proving conclusively that the 
black was only a consequence of the insect work; and sometimes 
when there are comparatively few insects on a tree, it may be 
several months before there is any appearance of black. 

When the fungus completely covers a tree, it is quite possible 
to destroy the insects and the black will remain for a long time 
afterwards; in fact when the trunk and branches, or limbs are 
completely coated, it is very difficult to get it off; it becomes a 
paste and atiheres as firmly as glue, and cannot be removed 
without the application of strong soap or some other substance 
equally powerful. It is my opinion that with little care large 
districts could be kept free from this scale insect; I do not be- 
lieve they would spread a distance of ten miles, unless carried on 
plants. Birds will spread them readily a distance of two miles. 

In closing this part of the subject I lay down the following 
facts : 

1st. That severe frosts will kill the insects, but the number of 
degrees and limit as to time through which the cold should be 
extended, and yet not do serious injury to the tree, is l)eyoiul 
my knowledge, for the reason that I have had no opportunity to 
extend my investigations. 

2d. That trees planted close to the sea will resist the attack 
better than anywhere else. The cold sea winds evidently coun- 
teract the spread of the insect. 

3d. That high table lands or plateaus will be easier to keej) 
free from the insects than on bottom lands where there is more, 
moisture in the soil, and generally more humidity in the atmos- 
phere. 



O L I V E C Ij L T U R E . 17 



ARTICLE IX. 

Rejuedies eor the Diseases. 

Pruning- is the most essential thing and the remedy of the 
greatest vital importance. If trees are properly pruned, so as to 
admit of free circulation of air and the sunlight, more than half 
the battle is made; in fact, trees in such condition where the 
ground is well tilled and kept free from rubbish are not so liable 
to the attack, and if attacked each scale insect can readily be 
seen and should be removed without delay. 

Orchardists who adopt this plan will have very little trouble, 
even in badly infected districts. A casual examination of sev- 
eral different parts of each orchard should be made as often as 
once a month. This can be done on horseback, or in a light 
wagon; and in the event of the appearance of scale insects, then 
a careful examination in that part, and a remedy applied to ex- 
terminate them. The insects will be found to inhabit that por- 
tion of the tree where the foliage is most dense, where the sun- 
light is shut out, and free circulation prevented. There is not 
so much in the remedy as in its application. While certain 
remedies may be eff"ectual in the hands of some, in the hands of 
others they will not be sufficient. " Eternal vigilance is the 
price of success." Constant watching and constant fighting is 
the only sure plan to prevent the spread of insect pests in locali- 
ties where trees are affected. 

There are doubtless very many remedies that if properly ap- 
plied would accomplish the work; and the expense would not be 
so great as to absorb the profits to be derived from the products 
of well-kept orchards. On young olive trees not badly affected, 
whale oil soap can be applied with a stiff' brush very successfully, 
and at cheap cost; but on large trees this plan is impracticable. 
I find in French books, where the subject is treated at great 
length, numerous remedies advised, which I translate as follows: 

"Scraping off, 

Poirdered ISalplier, 

Petroleum, 

Boiling Water, 

Lime Water, 

Hyposulphite of Lime, 

Wash with Allcaline, 

Smoking with Coal Tar." 
Also, " proper drainage, the tillage, removing rubbish, the lop- 
ping off of every useless twig are necessary precautions; the ap- 
plication is difficult and the success uncertain, where there are 
millions of insects. The pruning is of the greatest importance. 



18 Oi. iveCultuke. 

and the orchardist who neglects this important part will find that 
the pests will resist all efforts at extermination." 

In my correspondence several years ago with Prof. J. E. Plan- 
chon, President of the Horticultural Society of Montpelier, France, 
the following was recommended: 

" Syringe the trees with a solution of sulphate of soda, and 
powder them immediately after with powdered lime — a caustic 
soda is then produced which destroys the insects." Bisulphide 
of carbon has been used with deadly effect on the most danger- 
ous enemy to citrus fruit that was ever known. The cost is 
moderate, and the application not difficult, so that it should at- 
tract the attention of fruit-growers as an insect-destroyer. 

The remedies that I have experimented with are whale-oil 
soap, a decoction of tobacco, phenyle, and pyroligneous acid. 

1st. Whale-oil soap, as I have already stated, can be used ef- 
fectually on small olive trees, at very cheap cost. 

2d. A decoction of tobacco is simple, inexpensive, and, if 
properly applied, an effectual remedy for every class of insect 
pests that I have come in contact with. Forty pounds of good, 
strong leaf tobacco, thoroughly boiled in water, will make about 
80 gallons. This can be thrown upon the trees with a garden 
syringe, but it is necessary that the decoction should be kept, 
while using iv, at the uniform temperature of 130 degrees. Hot- 
ter than this will destroy the embryo fruit; less hot, less effectual. 
I would recommend four applications each year, until the orchards 
were entirely free from insects. Then, if the neighborhood was 
free, and proper precautions taken with pruning alone, could be 
kept free for generations to come. Every orchadist must grow 
his own tobacco, which he can do in a small way, if he attends to 
it properly, at a cost of two cents the pound — (one acre will 
produce 4,000 pounds.) We have, therefore, allowing two gal- 
lons of the decoction to a tree for each application, the following 
cost: One pound of tobacco, two cents. Two men can l)oil the 
tobacco and- syringe 100 trees daily — $1.25 for each man, and 
})oard, would be $2.50 — or two and a half cents the tree, which, 
with the cost of tobacco (two cents), equals per tree four and a 
lialf cents — four times each year, eighteen cents. On olive trees 
])roducing 50 gallons of berries (valued at 4 cents the pound), 
the whole cost of thorough cleaning would be less than two and 
a half per cent, of each yearly crop. On orange, lemon and 
lime trees, al)out the same. 

3d. Phenyle With this remedy my personal knowledge is 
limited; but from the experiments made by f)thers, I am satisfied 
it has veiy valuable properties, and do not hesitate to recommend 
it. It costs $1.50 j)er gallon — can be diluted with 50 parts of 
water to one part of phenyle, making the cost of the dilution for 
a tree-wash only 3 cents each gallon. 



Olive Cult 17 RE. 19 

4th. Pyroligneous acid is probably more effectual than any 
other known remedy, but the present cost of 75 cents the gallon 
makes it too expensive for common use in syringing trees. It is 
my opinion that it can be manufactured for 10 cents the gallon, 
perhaps less, then diluted one-half with water, would make the 
admixture cost 5 cents the gallon. The labor in applying either 
in swabbing or syringing trees, is much less than with tobacco, 
as it does not require to be heated. The most important prop- 
erties that any remedy can possess, provided that it has about 
the same insect destroying power, is that it should not be dis- 
agreeable to handle, no unsafety in keeping it in any place, and 
tjiat it should not require to be heated to be effectual. If it is 
dangerous in itself, the orchardist will always be in dread; if it 
requires heating t(< a certain number of degrees, the many little 
necessary preparations will afford ample excuses for delays, or if 
it is exceedingly disagreeable to handle, the putting-off plan will 
always be resorted to, until dire necessity compels its use. This 
remedy is not disagreeable to handle, and can always be kept at 
hand and ready for use. It therefore recommends itself for 
universal application. 

To sum up, it is my conviction, based upon the results of my 
experiments, that there is no excuse for not keeping olive trees 
free from scale insects. In fact, it is great economy to do so. It 
is a source from which to derive an income on the one hand, and 
total worthlessness on the other. Those who neglect this impor- 
tant duty, either from indifference or the want of knowledge, will 
expend their money only to see it melt away before them, and 
will have for their reward unsuccess, discouragement and despair. 



ARTICLE X. 
Transi-atjon, 



[This chapter I have copied entire from the French of Bertile, 
being a Idstory, culture, products, and the effect on the pub- 
lic health, etc., which I translate as follows:] 

" The touching story of the flight of the dove from Noah's ark, 
related in Genesis, proves the existence of the olive tree in the 
earliest period of the world's history. 

It was a celel)rated tree among the ancients. It held the first 
rank in their mythology; Minerva taught the Athenians how to 
prepare the fruit, and they had a most religious respect for it. 
The oil was used mostly in religious ceremonies by the ancients. 
The Romans used the wood not only as fuel, but on the altars 
of their gods; it was the emblem of peace. 



20 O L I V E C TJ L T U R E . 

The olive tree transported from Egypt to Attica, belong's to 
the jasmine family, with evergreen foliage, small blossoms in 
clusters, and having some likeness to the elder tree flowering in 
June. It can be propagated in many ways, but the best way is 
by planting the seeds, and it is one which is practiced least. 
Except in damp soils where its roots rot, the olive grows every- 
where. It accustoms itself to both dry and wet climates. Clay 
and mud are indifferent to it. Its lojig life is proverbial. In re- 
turn it takes thirty years, a man's life-time, before it reaches its 
full capacity for bearing fruit. Of this tree, one of the most 
valuable gifts of nature, there exists 10 or 17 species, all exotic. 
Its fruit is oval, fleshy, with a hard woody seed enclosing a ker- 
nel. The meat fine and covered with a green skin before its 
maturity, softens and becomes a purplish black in ripening; it 
is then that they grind them in the mill, then put them in a press 
to extract the oil. 

With some exceptions one may say that in the Mediterranean 
Basin, from the o5th degree to the 43d degree of latitude is sur- 
rounded with a belt of olive trees. It is from this region that all 
Europe receives its olive oil, for table use and for light. For 
either from some trouble in the growth, or some imperfection in 
the manufacture, perhaps both, the African coast produces very 
inferior article.?, which can only be used for lamp oil or grease. 

Some of the islands of the Grecian Archipelago and the 
western shore of the Adriatic produce better od, but destitute of 
sweetness and suppleness, qualities most desired by consumers, 
and only found in the oil made in the valleys south of the Alps. 
In the center of this region, extending from the promontory of 
Saint Tropez in France, to Lavona in Italy, in the gulf of Genoa, 
Nice is situated, whose reputation for the best oil has succeeded 
all other places in the world. 

From the Var to the Roya the valleys that surround it are pro- 
tected from the north wind by the Alps. The temperature of 
the winter, which is the season the olive ripens, is the same as 
spring in the center of France. 

This exceptional climate allows the fruit to reach its perfect 
ripeness, and together with the method of manufacturing gives 
the superiority which the oil of Nice without question has to-day 
over all other places. The annual production of this region is 
valued on an average of four or five millioTi kilograms. The har- 
vest l^egins in November and lasts until April or May. 

There is a crop every two years and lack of rain and intense 
cold combine in killing the tree. There are many instances of 
olive trees being bitten by frost, and in this case the tree must be 
cut to the ground. 

The uncertainty of the crops and the biennial yi(dd of fruit 
cause the high prices of olive oil. 



OliveCitltttre- 21 

The olives gathered in the vicinity of Nice are all sent to the 
mill to be pressed into oil. They only pickle those that would 
not make good oil, and all of the olives we have on our table 
come from those regions where they do not ripen. The bitter 
taste they have in this State is destroyed by letting them soak in 
alkaline water; then by preserving them in brine seasoned with 
diiferent herbs. By this preparation they become an aperient 
food, but less nourishing and less digestible. 

One only needs to read a good cook-book to find in how many 
forms oil can be used — but success in the concoction of diiferent 
dishes can only be obtained by the use of good oil. Failure in 
such dishes has been many times caused by rancid oil. 

Rich in azote, and with considerable nutritive qualities, olive 
oil possesses, in the first place, the power of assimilating with 
the human body. It is instrumental in assisting in many medi- 
cinal cures where the method is cutaneous. It being more liquid 
than animal fat, always used for that purpose, it is easier to 
absorb. The injured parts, protected from the air by oily sub- 
stances or salves, heal more quickly. These unctions give, 
besides, more suppleness and elasticity to the muscles. As it is 
not penetrated by the poisons in the atmosphere, it is used with 
success in counteracting the deleterious miasma around swampy 
districts. It ought to be greatly preferred for the hair to pom- 
ades, as it acts more quickly on the scalp. Taken daily, by the 
spoonful, it is an excellent laxative to the system, and not tire- 
some to the stomach. 

It ought to be preferred as a medicine on account of its cheap- 
ness and pleasant taste, to those purgative powders so distasteful 
and expensive. 

We read in history of the elasticity and vigor of the Grecians 
and Romans, and these qualities, without doubt, have been pro- 
duced by the constant use of olive oil among those ancients. 
Unlike all animal fat, that is injurious to the stomach and thins 
the blood, it assists the digestion and permits the body to develoj) 
correctly, and the brain to reach the highest stage of human in- 
telligence. Be that as it may, the beneficial effect that olive oil 
has, over human organism, cannot be disputed. 

Originally only eaten where it was made, since the communi- 
cation between all countries has become so much easier, this 
article of food is universally used. The most important thing is 
to get it pure. Unfortunately on account of the cheapness of 
oils made from seeds and nuts of different kinds, commerce has 
adulterated olive oil as it has so many other articles. Oils made 
of peanuts, sesame, cotton, and poppy seeds are sold by millions 
of kilogrammes under the name of olive oil. 

This unwholesome adulteration which can create the most 



22 O L I V E G U L T U K K . 

serious disorders on the digestive organs should be carefully 
avoided by persons vs^ho have any regard for their health. 

Mechanics refuse seed oils because of their dryness, as they 
gum up the machinery instead of greasing it and keeping it 
clean. It is just as important that the machinery of the human 
body should rebel against such oils. We ought to be familiar 
with the methods of extracting oil from all oleaginous substances^ 
being so necessary to different industries. But all the table oil 
should give the preference to that made from a tree that the 
Almighty saved from the destruction of the Deluge and a branch 
of which the dove carried to Noah as a sign of forgiveness." 



ARTICLE XI. 

THE ADULTERATION OF OLIVE OIL. 

I have copied from a paper read before the Liverpool Chemists' 
Association by Michael Conroy, F. C. S., the same published in 
the Pharmaceutical Journal, as follows : "The favorite method 
proposed by M. Poutet, consists in beating up the oil with one- 
twelfth of its weight of solution of nitrate of mercury. The 
nitrous acid or nitric peroxide evolved from this converts the 
oleine of olive oil into elaidin, causing the olive oil, if pvire, to 
become solid in a couple of hours, while the drying oils remain 
liquid. It will be seen from this that olive oil adulterated with 
any of the drying oils will not set as hard nor as quickly as 
genuine olive oil, and that the consistency to which the sample 
sets, and the time occupied in setting, somewhat roughly indi- 
cate the amount of adulteration. A modification of this process 
is to use nitric acid instead of the solution of nitrate of mercury, 
and I believe that this plan is practiced by many oil merchants. 
The modus operandi is to mix one-half a fluid drachm of strong- 
nitric acid with about five fluid drachms of the oil in a bottle of 
one fluid ounce capacity, and to shake vip briskly, and put in a 
cool place for a few • hours, when the color and consistency are 
noted. The results are somewhat similar to those obtained by 
the nitrate of mercury test. These two tests, are in my opinion, 
the best ])ublished; but they are not satisfactory, inasmuch as it 
is extremely difficult to judge of the consistency of the results 
obtained, and, so far as my experience goes, they are useless for 
samples containing less than ten or fifteen per cent, of seed oils. 
The ]ilan which I recommend as more suitable for the purpose 
is based on an inq)roved method of ap|ilying this last test; but 
instead of being guided !)y the consistency, 1 am guided by the 



OliveCulture. 23 

color produced. The test is applied as follows: Mix thoroughly 
1 part of strong nitric acid (sp. gr. 1.42) with 9 parts of the oil to 
be tested, and pour the mixture into a white porcelain dish capa- 
ble of holding at least ten times the quantity. Apply heat 
gently, until the action between the acid and the oil is fairly set 
up, then remove the source of heat and stir well with a o-lass rod 
until the action is over. 

Pure olive oil thus treated and allowed to cool sets into a pale 
.straw-colored hard mass in an hour or two, while cotton seed and 
other seed oils assume a deep orange red color, and do not set 
like olive oil. 

In hot weather it is necessary to artificially cool the sample so 
as to promote the setting; but to a practiced eye the setting is 
quite unnecessary, the color being sufficiently distinct without. 

It will be seen that the delicacy of this test depends upon the 
great contrast in color exhibited between genuine olive and seed 
oils, when operated on as described, so that an admixture of 5 
per cent, of any seed oil with olive oil is readily detected. 
Another important feature in this, and possessed by no other test, 
is the accuracy with which the approximate amount of admixture 
may be ascertained; and to practically show this feature, I have 
on the table a sample of genuine olive oil, and one of cotton- 
seed, and seven other samples, containing respectively 5, 10, 15, 
20, 30, 40 and 50 per cent, of cotton-seed oil, which have been 
treated by this method, and I venture to say that not one will 
experience -any difficulty in picking out the various samples, the 
gradation in color being so uniform, and I may also add that it is 
constant. It therefore follows, that if an oil be fgund to set of a 
different color to that of a sample of genuine olive, the approxi- 
mate amount of adulteration can be found by making and operat- 
ing on a few mixtures containing a known percentage of the 
adulterant. A little experience in working the test will won- 
derfully assist in determining the percentage of admixture in any 
sample, but in all cases I would recommend that the test be 
performed in conjunction with a sample of genuine olive. The 
quantities which I have been in the habit of using are, -g- a fluid 
drachm of nitric acid and 9|- fluid drachms of oil, and having used 
the test for about three years I can confidently recommend it as 
thoroughly reliable and constant when carefully carried out. 
The heat should be removed as soon as the action has fairly 
started, and the mixture should be kept well stirred until the 
action is over. Should too much heat be applied, the action be- 
comes violent and unmanageable, and some of the mixture will 
spurt out of the dish. This spurting, however, may be prevented 
by placing a plate or other flat body over the dish. The results 
obtained are never as good when the action is so violent as to 
cause spurting." 



24 O L I V E C U L T U RE . 

The reputation of the author of the above is sufficient to 
recommend the certainty of the test — but as all consumers have 
not the material, or apparatus at hand, they can satisfy them- 
selves of the large percentage of adulteration contained in at 
least one of the most popular brands imported from Europe by a 
much simpler method. 

Take one bottle of Luca Oil put up by Cross & Blackwell of 
London, and one bottle of my oil, put both in an ice freezer 
where the tempature -is as low as 35 to 40 degrees Far,, and leave 
them over night. An inspection in the morning will satisfy any 
one who may now have doubts as to the adulteration of the 
former. 

The adulteration of the Barton & Guestier oil cannot be 
exposed by this test but your druggist can expose it for you, by 
the "Couroy" method. I only mention these two brands for the 
reason that they command the highest price and are the favored 
importations. While I was engaged in the shipping business in 
the city of New York, our firm had one telegraph order for one 
thousand tierces of hog's lard to go to the Mediterranean to 
adulterate olive oil. 

One year's exports of cotton seed oil from New Orleans to the 
Mediterranean was sufficient in quantity to fill " fifteen million " 
ordinary oil bottles, the cost of the oil in each bottle being less 
than ten cents. So long as our people are willing to pay a dollar 
for what is not worth anything, and which costs Iqss than ten 
cents, so long will hog's lard and cotton seed, under false labels, 
be consumed by them as olive oil. As to the effect on the human 
body of a liberal use of these admixtures, I refer to my previous 
article or to the writings on the subject, by every intelligent 
author since the commencement of time. 



ARTICLE XII. 
Concussion 



With this chapter my articles on olive culture will close. Be- 
fore closing however, it is necessary to add, as supplementary to 
article No. 8, that insect pests destructive to the olive as also to 
citrus fruits, are called by different names. I have in my arti- 
cle used the scientific name of Coccus oleoe in speaking of the 
black scale. 

In a very interesting treatise on insect pests published by 
Mathew Cooke, chief Horticultural officer of this State, this insect 
is called Lecanium oleae sriven as the classification of Monsieur 



() I. I V K C U L T U R E . :i5 

V. Signoret of Paris, also in the same book from a pMper of Prof. 
Comstock, this insect is called Lecanium oleae. This scientist 
also claims that he has discovered scale insects ijot previously 
described or named. Different names for the same thinj^ is very 
unfortunate and misleads the invcstifi;;ator. We vidio have to. 
tig-ht insect pests care very little uu'der what name we fig-ht them, 
but we want information, and cannot afford the confusion or diffi- 
culties to be met with by reason of a multiplicity of names. If 
scientists who claim the rig-ht of the naming pt.wer disagree on 
this imjiortant point it detracts from our respect for the import- 
ance of their work. 

I have adhered to the classification Coccus for the reason that 
all French writers on the olive that 1 have consulted have done 
so, with but one exception. 

As an authority on this subject I quote from Alfred Le .Jour- 
dan in his work Maladie Koire, pages 15 to 31. 

" These insects form the genus IJoccus founded l)v I^iniKrus 
and adopted by the greater number of authors. 

1. Tlie Coccus hesperiduni, Citrus Scale. 

2. The Coccus aoniditrih. Oleander Scale. 

3. The Coccus adoniduiih, Hot-house Scale. 

4. Tlie Coccus oJeoe, (^iive Scale. 

5. The Coccus ficus caricoe. Scale of the Fig. 
(). The Coccus vitis, Scale of the Vine. 

Some authors have classified these insects by the number of 
the antennae, the form of the body, the presence of rii.gs, etc., 
etc., but these divisions established on chai'acters of very little 
importance, and which sometimes vary, I think it is more natural 
to preserve the grand genus Lmneeii, the Coccus. 

'•'In the Lecanium they have placed the Coccus Itesperidiiin , 
the Coccus aouA'duDv, and the Coccus oleoe/^ 

In the classification as al)ove from oite to six these insects have 
been variously named. 

1. The Coccus hesper/d /I in the (.'occus hypernaculoruui, tiu» 
])ediculus cl\'pe;ttus, the Ki'rmt^s hes])eriduni, the lecaniun hes- 
pei'idum. 

2. Coccus (fouidujn. the Coccua indarum arboreum, the Coc- 
cus hesperidum minor, tlie Kermes aonidum, the lecanium aoni- 
dum. 

3. The Coccus culoitiduDh, the pediculus hypernaculoruin, th(» 
pediculus adonidum, the pediculus coffeoe, the Coccus rufus fari- 
naceus. 

4. The Coccus Oleoe, the Kermes Oleoe, the lecanium 01e(e, 

5. The Coccus ficus caricoe^ the kermes ficus caricie, the leca- 
nium iicus carico". 

(5. The Coccus vitis, \he Kermes vitis. 



26 OliveCultukk 



"These are the principal kinds of coccus, corresponding to a 
certain extent, and the attack always followed by the black fun- 
g^us." 

" The Coccus adoniclinn, (hot house scale) originated in Sene- 
gal and attacks more particularly the Citrus trees, and is very diffi- 
cult to destroy." 

"The coccus hesperidmn (citrus scale), originated in America 
or Africa." 

"The coccus aonidum originated in the Indian Archipelago, 
and thrives more particularly on the Oleander." 

'■'' The cocci cs ficus caricoe commits great ravages on the fig. 
It pi'oduces about the same eflfect on the fig that the black scale 
does on the olive, multiplies with great rapidity, but not so 
rapidly as the olive scale." 

" The coccus oleoe, so destructive to the olive, is a native of 
the borders of the Mediten-enean, and increases with the greatest 
rapidity." 

" The coccus vitis exercises its destructive action on the vine." 

I differ from the conclusions of scientists as to the natural 
home of some of these insects. They do not, or can not exist 
where there are many degrees of frost. They do not thrive in 
the tropics. 

The olive was grown successfully for at least four thousand 
years in parts of Asia, and a very great length of time in Africa,- 
and on the coast of the Mediterranean without being infested 
with the Coccus. It could not be a native of these places. The 
natural home is in' a climate similar to Australia and that of 
California. 

FINIS. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



002 792 948 5 



